Negotiate To Win: The 21 Rules For Successful Negotiating
By Jim Thomas
320pp. New York: Collins, 2005.
Hardcover Edition (US) $22.95
Jim Thomas is a Washington, D.C. attorney, business owner and speaker. He has been a negotiator for over 25 years with experience in mergers and acquisitions, arms control, labor relations, trade and diplomacy, domestic and international businessand a variety of other fields. He is the founder and CEO of Common Ground Seminars and a graduate of UCLA and GeorgetownUniversityLawCenter.
Jim Thomas has a ready wit and sprinkles his “how-to” negotiate book with humor. For those who are devotees of “lawyer jokes,” it will provide some enjoyable moments. For those who are not so inclined, however, the author’s wry pokes at established truths keep the work lively.
The book is divided into three parts. The first part, The World Is a Big Blue Negotiating Table, provides a wide-ranging commentary on various aspects of the field of negotiation. Thomas begins with the broad assertion that “much of negotiation’s folklore turns out to be fiction” (p. 9). Does that blue suit or that particular shape of the table really matter, the author asks. Alas, it does not, he asserts and speeds on. And so, we find ourselves in the underlying pattern of the work. Interesting topics raised, quickly dealt with and then rapid movement to a next topic. It is a disconcerting pattern necessitated by trying to cover an astonishing number of subjects.
There may be only 21 rules, but there are a vast number of assertions on negotiation in this work. Among these are statements such as “Americans hateto negotiate. We find it embarrassing and tacky (p. 20).” As is the pattern, the case is closed quicklyand the reader is off again to a new topic. This time it is the author’s assertion saving “face” is central human interaction. “Face is humankind’s third rail. Touch it and die” (p.34).
From all this, Thomas concludes, win-win negotiating is the only viable method since it alone assures that all participants can save face. There is more here, but far from enough to get beyond the most basic assumption stages. I found it a disappointing beginning to the work.
The core of the book, of course, is its second part, The 21 Rules of Negotiating. Here are the “how to” prescriptions. The author begins with 7“critical”rules;moves quickly to 4 “important, but obvious” rulesand concludes with 10 “nice to do” rules. It is a daunting task to set before any budding negotiator.
With all of this to conquer, the good news is that the first of the 21 rules is the most important. Rule 1 sums up the author’s view that “trading is what negotiating is all about (p. 51).”
The rest of the book builds on this first insight. As the reader proceeds they learn how to set goals, make concessions, analyze positions, use creativity, et al.
The less joyous news from this reader’s perspective is that in developing this core, the author has decided to deal with everything one can imagine about negotiating. The reader learns correctly that the essence of negotiation is trading, not giving. Learn this, and one has come along way towards effective negotiating. That established, we move quickly to “how to” achieve a successful outcome. Twenty more rules await.
For the new negotiator, the sections dealing with concession strategies and showing the importance of establishing patterns and illustrating such sequences will be most welcome.What will rapidly lose its illustrative charm for most readers, however, is the author’s focus on “krunches,”methods of gaining concessions in the bargaining process. “Thekrunch,” Thomas tells his reader, “is the simplest and most frequently tool in negotiating (p.284).” This reviewer strongly doubts that assertion, but Thomas drives his point home for his readers with illustrations of sample “krunches” galore over more than a half of a dozen pages.
Having explored “krunches’ in depth, Thomas moves to “nibbles.” “Nibbling is a part of doing a complete job as a negotiator,” the author asserts (p. 285). In his view, a bit and a bite here and there is appropriate and necessary as the negotiation moves along. Add to this his view that all deals should be negotiated as packages with all agreements on issues treated as tentative until entire deal is complete, and “nibbling” becomes paramount as a strategy at the close of a negotiation. “The stupid period” at the end of a negotiation, “is when you nibble,” Thomas states. (p. 104). Readers, of course, will wish to consider the wisdom of such a course carefully before applying it on any deal.
The closing section, part three, entitled “the practice of negotiating,”puts the reader’s new knowledge to work. The author touches upon negotiations with children, the boss, family, international business personnel. lawyers, doctors, contractors, auto mechanics and over items as diverse as car purchases, leases, rentals; airlines, hotels, retail stores, lawyers, house purchases, salaries, etc, etc, etc.
All in all, the book seeks to cover far too much in far too small a package.
The book includes an index, but does not provide a bibliography.
John Baker, Ph.D.
Editor
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